MPR’s Euan Kerr profiles local musicians “Spider” John Koerner and Willie Murphy. The two talk about their work together over the decades and the album “Running, Jumping, Standing Still.”

Segment also includes critic commentary and music clips.

Transcript:

(00:00:00) 25 years ago Rolling Stone magazine writer John Swenson fell in love with running jumping standing still he still in love with it today. If you could put it in a bottle This Record sort of gives you the feeling of abandoned and you know, unbridled Joy really that that I think
(00:00:21) characterized the music of the late sixties at its best a bitter man.
(00:00:44) Billy Murphy lives in South Amer neapolis about a mile from the West Bank area where he and spider John koerner still play Hey there. Kaminsky although Murphy and Kerner were both fixtures on the Minneapolis seen in the 60s. They had never actually met until koerner went looking for a new musical partner to try out some ideas spider John had a national reputation for his work with koerner Ray and Glover the trio credited with spreading Blues influences into the fork World. Murphy was playing piano in rock and roll bands instrumentally. I mean we're both Primitives John is in a folk way very Adept at the style he plays and I'm not I'm not a piano virtuoso. So I play in a kind of a primitive style. But I knew a lot of maybe some Theory and stuff that I used a lot that he didn't know they began working on tunes that stretch the definitions of their music experimenting with Styles and literally messing with time. I was trying to think how we like for magazine lady how we came up. Five four time was that your idea or did we evolve that or I don't remember if it was my dear not but I do remember that those kind of things interested me partly from listening to Greek music actually where they do some interesting things with time. Legends abound about the making of running jumping standing still so many it's hard at times to separate the truth from The Wishful Thinking the album was recorded at Paxton Lodge a studio owned by Elektra records high in the mountains of California. The lore about this place was that it was an old whore house and it Is quite easy to believe Steve Kaplan is now the editor of the Minnesota Journal of Law and politics back. Then he was the manager of Dave raise rock and roll band, which was slated to recorded Paxton when spider John koerner and Willie Murphy were done as they waited. They would listen to what was being recorded. It was very clear to all of us and to everybody who is there that this was magic Something Magic was
(00:03:15) going on.
(00:03:27) Colonel Ryan Murphy say they threw the songs together sticking Styles back-to-back to see how they worked. I think there's something you have to pay attention to when you're doing this and that is when you are making a move in your music, you know, when you try it out. It has to feel like it just goes because it wants to go there and if it doesn't then you fool with it until it does you know and that's our are you play it till you get used to it? I think. There were new and strange sounds on the album ranging from dog barks to Bubbles being blown in a beer glass tracks. Would Fade Out then reappear Elsewhere on the album. Well, it's I don't know. There's a there's an idea there. It's like here you go out with a song you think it's gone, but it's not gone it comes back and not only that but you've got to increase the numbers and you're having a party with it. It's like something that's stays alive. You know, it's a little Bit of the dream quality to it to fades in and Fades out again. The experimentation was held by the atmosphere at Paxton Lodge. It was kind of idyllic hippie Heaven Murphy says, they found themselves pampered beyond belief with good food and a huge record collection available to visitors being the 60s. There was a now legendary bottomless bowl of marijuana. There are three or four young list some hippie. The women that were like they you know, their official jobs were to help cook and although they had a professional cook there and put on this if it was your birthday they were there's thing was to give you a bath which one my birthday came I was too. Shy to do other musicians dropped by to watch Judy Collins was there Jackson Browne played melodeon on one track. There were some musical aims to running jumping standing still but Rolling Stones John Swanson says ultimately Goal was very simple Beyond any like breaking down of the time signatures or specific musical logical references. I think the the spirit behind it is the real key to understanding it, you know, the it's a you know music meant to have a wild great time too. I mean Red Palace the opening tracks, you know is a kind of Anthem to excess.
(00:05:57) The
(00:06:06) album was released to critical Acclaim and koerner and Murphy went on the road to play the music live fan after a while things began to tail off spider John moved to Denmark which meant the plans for another record were set aside was there a Another album Willie. Yeah the option and we just really okay. Well, that's interesting. I'd forgotten all about that. Willie Murphy return to the Twin Cities as in time did Spider John they didn't reap the success that rewarded some musicians following in their wake but a lot of fans didn't forget at Gatherings of people who really knew popular music. The album was remembered with reverence. The album went out of print and secondhand copies were sold at premium prices now after several years of negotiation with the Electra the album is being re-released on Red House Records. Willie Murphy and spider John koerner will play a special reunions concert at the Guthrie Theater on February 28 Murphy admits a certain ambivalence about the re-release. He says he doesn't want to get swept up in a phony sense of nostalgia. You know, it's not like we're some old guys and we're looking back and we're retired and we're happy with what we did and we're looking back and saying. Oh, yeah, let's see. Here's this whole thing. They're going to reissue it. I feel so, you know No saturated with Nostalgia and Goodwill. I'm still a musician and I'm still struggling and I'm still writing and I'm still recording and we're trying to you know on and so as John, you know, really for his part koerner is intrigued how the music will be received today and Murphy admits things could be worse. We could be in a position where we really Didn't like the stuff anymore and we're not you know, and we know that would happen to a lot of people. Now they're getting excited about rehearsing and maybe bending a few rules again. What if we come out and I don't even play the piano all night. I'm you and Kara, Minnesota
(00:08:23) Public Radio.